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MrBeast: Should we panic about YouTube's biggest influencer?
Jimmy Donaldson — AKA "MrBeast" — has taken YouTube by storm, racking up more than 330 million subscribers with his cleverly edited videos of stunts ranging from performative philanthropy to Fear Factor-esque challenges. He's also launched a burger chain, a chocolate and snack brand, and is currently working on a reality competition series with Amazon. At just 26 years old, MrBeast has built a brand valuated at $1.5 billion.
"Should we be outraged by his existence?," asks Ryan Broderick, creator of the newsletter Garbage Day and host of the new podcast Panic World. In this episode, Ryan tells Ben and Amory all about the awkward past, the controversial present, and the uncertain future of MrBeast.
Show notes:
- Panic World's MrBeast episode with Ben and Amory
- Garbage Day, the newsletter
- "In the Belly of MrBeast" (Time)
- "Willing to Die for MrBeast (and $5 Million)" (The New York Times)
- "From baking to MrBeast: Meet the YouTuber taking on the platform’s biggest creator" (NBC News)
This content was originally created for audio. An auto-generated transcript is available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Heads up that some elements (i.e. music, sound effects, tone) are harder to translate to text.